THE  MODERN  RATIONALIST

A multi- religious State has to be secular to ensure unity and
integrity, stability and progress. Our Constitution that came
into force on 26 January 1950, originally stated in the Preamble that ours was a SovereignDemocratic Republic. Subsequently it was amended in 1976 to add to more essential attributes making it a Sovereign  Secular Socialist Democratic Republic.

We have defined our polity in lofty terms. It shows that we aspire high. At the same time we find that  our leaders in public life, particularly those in politics, do not honour and pursue what our Constitution says.

Let us examine our situation regarding our secular commitment. It is a very simple concept. It says that State and religion should remain separate. Religion is strictly a private affair. It is concerned with one’s faith. Families should make it a domestic affair, conducting ceremonies along with their relatives and friends. Those who share the same faith may celebrate the festive occasions in and around their common place of worship and prayer, without causing unnecessary inconvenience or damage of any sort to the public.

While secular principle requires religious functions not be mixed up with government functions, in actual practice we find the officials hiring the services of Hindu priests to perform some kind of rites and rituals at the inauguration of almost all important functions. They even consult the priest and the astrologer (considered to be an expert in studying the almanac) to fix the auspicious time to start a vital task! This kind of hotchpotch has become a permanent feature of our public administration due to the peculiar interpretation given to the term secularism : It means giving equal respect to all religions. Naturally, in a country where ‘Hindus’ form 85 percent of the population, such an interpretation makes their religion a domineering one.

This situation has emboldened the Hindutva elements like Hindu Maha Sabha, Sangh Parivar (R.S.S. and its affiliates), Shiv Sena, Hindu Munnani etc. to make India to march towards Hindu theocracy with the ultimate object of making Varna Dharma the ruling creed of India. When they thought that Mahatma Gandhi would be an obstacle, they shot him dead in 1948, even before the completion of six months of the attainment of independence in 1947. In 1949 they took the next step of planting unnoticed during the night the Ram Lala (an idol of Lord Rama as a boy) inside the Babri Masjid, the historic monument of 16th Century, built by a general of Babur in Ayodhya.

Nehru wrote to Govind Vallab Pant, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, to remove the idol. But Pant replied that the removal would lead to law and order problem, and did not oblige the Prime Minister, Nehru. A partisan decision of the then District Magistrate K.K.Nair resulted in granting limited rights of worship to the Hindus. And Muslims stopped praying from that famous mosque. Later K.K.Nair jointed Jan Sangh, the name by which the BJP was known prior to 1977, and became its M.P.

The Sangh Parivar collected bricks through out the country in 1989. It was known as Ram Shila programme. They propagated in villages and towns that the bricks were meant to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya. They made use of faith and religious frenzy to raise the level of communal hatred against the religious minorities. The BJP posited Mandir against Mandal, Hindu fundamentalism against Social Justice in 1990 and L.K.Advani led the Rath Yatra in September. It led to violent clashes and blood shed.

In the name of doing Kar Seva, the Hindu forces converged on the Babur Mosque on 6 December 1992 and demolished it. The BJP government in the concerned State of UP and the leaders of Sangh Parivar supported the hooligans to carry on the demolition, whereas the Congress government at the Centre under P.V.Narasimha Rao remained a silent spectator. It was India’s greatest hour of shame! All the three constitutional authorities - the legislature, the executive and the judiciary - were openly flouted. Except Tamil Nadu all the States of India witnessed communal riots, and thousands were killed.

A Commission  of inquiry under Justice M.S.Liberhan was appointed a few days after the demolition. It submitted its report after 17 years and 48 extensions. The report was tabled in parliament on 24 November2009. It condemned virtually every Hindutva leader responsible for the unprecedented tragic event : the former Prime Minister Vajpayee, Advani, M.M.Joshi, Ashok Singhal, ex R.S.S.Chief K.S.Sudarshan, Bal Thackery - all of them led he country to the brink of communal discord.

The Liberhan Commission has exonerated Narasimha Rao. It is claimed that he could not act decisively in the absence of a report from the government of the State. If he had no time to stop demolition, then how did he allow the continuation of the make-shift temple of Ram Lala at the same site?

Now a Telugu book, Asalu Emi Jarigindante (What Actually Happened) by a retired IAS Officer, PVRK. Prasad, an information advisor to then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, states that he, as P.M., had done a lot of groundwork for the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya. “They (BJP) say they will build the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Is Lord Ram their own?” - that was his line of thinking, according to the author. It is a shocking revelation! author. Such an attitude on the part of a Prime Minister belonging to a secular party had not naturally helped to promote the secular cause; it only made anti-secular forces popular. That explains how BJP was able to get the support of the voters and form the government the centre heading a coalition ministry. Instead of diluting the principle or the policy laid down by the Constitution, the political parties should stick to it when the occasion demands. The leaders should never hesitate to educate the cadres as well as the general public about the meaning and real significance of secular outlook and the need to uphold it.